Former Student Checks In!! (2nd Post of the Day)

Mykhail Chambers, a former student of mine, sent me birthday wishes this weekend, and we've been chatting a bit tonight. He was Illinois State Champion at high jump, both indoor and out, his senior year in high school, and is now doing track and field at Georgia Tech while studying electrical engineering. On top of the athletic success, he is a GREAT guy and I was delighted to hear from him. 

Check out this picture - I would love to have it made into a poster and add it to my "former students" wall in my classroom!!

Kyle - Following is his Dad's Footsteps!

SUNDAY, AUGUST 30

Poached from Ashley's blog... Congratulations to Kyle! So like his father....
New Calling

At 10 pm on Thursday night Kyle got a call from the Stake President asking us to meet with him on Saturday. We all know what that means. . .
Kyle was asked to serve in the Branch Presidency for a troubled youth branch. The youth are in transition during a sort of observation period. They are only there for 6-8 weeks while it is determined if they should be placed in a detention center or a foster home or sent home. It will certainly be an interesting experience for him and our family. After talking to the men he'll be serving with he's very excited. The Stake President did say this will be his calling and he *should* be released from his other two, soon.
Looks like another crazy, busy semester!

You Can Do WHAT, Mr. Toll??

Out of a staff of about 85 people, we have one, ONE, male teacher, Jeff Toll at 4th grade. He's Kyle's age and a horseman, having owned and shown Saddlebreds until just a few years ago. Once in a while we get to yacking about horses with each other around the xerox machine, comparing notes and sharing stories. 

Now, girls in the intermediate grades tend to engage in a LOT of "mutual grooming." They'll fiddle with each other's hair, play with it, style it, etc. (when they really should be paying attention!!) Jeff had some girls doing just that during class, and when he looked at the braid a girl had put into another girl's hair, he blurted out, "I can do better than that! Faster, too."

Of course, the girls did not believe a man could braid hair, let alone do it better (or faster) than they could. So, a little challenge was issued.

To the girls' astonishment, Jeff had a neat and tidy braid in the girl's hair quick as a wink. 

His secret? The horses!! Jeff braided many a horse's mane and tail before a horse show, and as a result, is a real whiz at braiding!! 

I wish I could have seen those girls' faces when he whipped up that braid!

Incommunicado...

The first week of school, Hershey went fiber optic for phones and computers. Wonderful, high tech, fast...

Yeah, right.

It just takes one farmer plowing a little too deep to cut off a school of 750 kids, and 80+ staff and faculty, from the rest of the world!

I can do without the internet and being able to use my computer, but not having phones in the building, especially one so far out in the hinterlands, so isolated, is NOT safe. Even cell reception can be spotty!

Wonder if we'll have school tomorrow if the cable hasn't been repaired?

Problems with Going Private

::sigh:: I am having problems going private. This may take a few days, folks. Stay tooned!!

Going Private - Don't Forget!

Just a reminder that I am planning to take this blog private Sunday. Send me your email address if you think I don't know you are a reader and you want to continue reading! 

Several people in this situation have already contacted me - all of them sounded sheepish and said they felt like stalkers. You are NOT stalkers, folks! I'm delighted to know so many  friends are reading! :)

The Joke's on THEM!!

Monday a small box mysteriously appeared on my desk. When I opened it, I found it was full of origami cranes - a joke among my last year's 5th graders that goes back to when they were in 4th grade! (It's a long story, but we read a book called Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, then made our own 1000 peace cranes. Problem was, the kids would not quit, and turned every bit of paper into a crane - from gum wrappers to lunch menus! I refused to quit counting after we hit 1200 - it only encouraged them.)

Well, the joke was on the students this time - notice there's a mailing label under the penciled-in "From Former Students"?? I was able to get a "confession" very quickly.

(And would you believe, I cannot fold a crane? I meant to learn, but I never did, and they taught themselves! Shhhh! They don't know!)

A Card from Ella

Bear in mind that this is my journal, and that I write things in it I want to remember forever. I am including a note that Ella Masar sent me. It was tucked in a package of genuine Ella/Chicago Red Stars jerseys for Curt and me. They have her name and number on the back and are replicas of those the team wears. (Like this blue one Ella is wearing in a game against FC Sky Blue.) 

Ella-noise!!

Lynn & Family,

The front of this card could not speak truer of your family. I know I do not know all of your children, however of the 3 I know I can't think of better people on this earth.

So thank you for raising such amazing young men and women and helping this world be a better place!

The support you have showed me has been amazing. I don't think I could ask for more loyal fans, even more, friends.

It's truly a blessing having you and Curt in my life. Shoot, even Cole and your husband have brought me smiles when I thought I couldn't.

I love you guys and I do hope to visit soon than later.

Love, Ella

Your #1 Fan :)

Going Private Soon

Sarah said something when I was out in Utah with her about why she took her blog private, and it made a LOT of sense to me. I am going to do the same in this coming week. The target date for the change-over is August 23.

I will be sending out the login information to those I know read this so they can keep reading. 

But I don't wish to exclude friends who are reading this whom I don't realize are here, either. So, if you don't get login info by Sunday, August 23, email me at lisenbarger8@yahoo.com and I will send it to you. 

What Are We Seeing??

Todd took these pictures yesterday from his home. I've already emailed them to Mike Prangley (weathercaster for WLFI) to see if he can tell us what Todd was seeing. Pretty amazing clouds!!

Making Progress!

Despite the turmoil of the past month, I am continuing to progress on achieving my goal of riding 520 miles this year on my bicycle. Today I hit another milestone! Take a look!

Temple and the Pool

Yesterday we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. It is so beautiful inside - I especially loved the woodwork in the terrestrial room and the stars in the windows.

Then, in the afternoon we all swam in Kyle's pool. Kyle, Sarah, and Lisa had a contest to see who could jump in and make the biggest splash.

Oh, Here We Are Together...

Curt's arriving this evening, and Cole, of course, will not be with us, but Sarah and her family, Jessica, and Craig all arrived yesterday afternoon for Adelaide's blessing.

Kyle was so excited that everyone was coming - he kept listening for the cars to arrive, looking out the windows, etc. I finally took his picture (naturally, he then began posing when he realized what I was doing... :D)

We hit the Provo Chuck-o-Rama for dinner (a hopping place in Provo on a Friday night!), and then visited a while before calling it a day. JC and Trinity are so excited to be with Braden - they brought him some trucks to play with, kept wanting to sit with him, etc. Braden relished being with them! Poor Craig was falling asleep in his chair, he was so wiped from the trip.

Braden and I had had "Grammy Day Camp" and you cannot have camp without a craft! So, we made Adelaide a picture frame. Braden plopped the pink paint onto a stencil that I held onto a white picture frame.